研究人员开发出了一种长效胶囊，当这种胶囊被服下时，会将药物缓慢释放到人体内。
The researchers say the capsule was developed for treatment of the disease malaria. But they believe it could hold medicines for a number of health problems.
研究人员表示，这种胶囊被开发出来用于治疗疟疾。但是他们认为这种胶囊可以携带治疗多种健康问题的药物。
Once inside the stomach, the plastic capsule opens up to release the drug in small, measured amounts. The plastic is designed to resist the stomach's acidic environment. The device breaks down after about two weeks and is expelled with waste products. At that time, a patient would swallow another drug-containing capsule.
一旦进入胃部，这种塑料胶囊就会开始释放出定额剂量的药物。这种塑料旨在抵御胃酸环境。该胶囊会在两周左右之后分解并随废物排出。届时病人将会服下另一颗含有药物的胶囊。
Researchers have tested capsules filled with the drug ivermectin on pigs and dogs. Ivermectin is used to treat parasitic organisms. It kills mosquitoes that carry the malaria parasite.
研究人员已经在猪和狗身上对这种装有伊维菌素的胶囊进行了测试。伊维菌素被用于治疗寄生虫，它能杀死携带疟疾寄生虫的蚊子。
Scientists are now designing a program to test the capsule in people next year.
科学家们正在设计明年在人体对这种胶囊进行测试的流程。
The scientists work with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Massachusetts. They decided to test ivermectin because of what they saw when it was used to treat river blindness in Africa. Many people there have malaria infections. Ninety percent of malaria cases worldwide happen in countries south of the Sahara Desert.
这些科学家们与麻省理工学院以及美国布莱根妇女医院展开合作。科学家们决定对伊维菌素进行测试，是因为当它在非洲被用于治疗河盲症时，他们有所发现。非洲有很多人感染疟疾。全球90%的疟疾病例发生在撒哈拉以南非洲国家。
Researcher Giovanni Traverso works at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
研究人员乔瓦尼·特拉韦尔索（Giovanni Traverso）就职于布莱根妇女医院。
"What was observed was that malaria would transiently drop. And so what we proposed was, you know, ‘what if we could increase the period of time during which individuals could have ivermectin in their system really to help suppress the mosquito population in those regions?'"
他说，“我们观察到疟疾会临时下降。所以我们提出，‘我们要如何延长伊维菌素在人体内的药效时间，以帮助抑制这些地区的蚊子数量？’”
Researchers say the capsule could possibly be filled with ivermectin and another drug to decrease the number of malaria infections.
研究人员表示，这种胶囊可能会装入伊维菌素和另一种药物以减少疟疾感染数量。
The World Health Organization says only about half of people in the West and 30 percent of those in developing countries take their medicine every day when told by doctors to do so. A computer model estimates that the capsule could increase that number to 70 percent.
世界卫生组织表示，只有一半左右的西方人和30%的发展中国家的人们每天照医嘱服药。计算机模型估算这种胶囊可以将该数量增加到70%。
Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher Andrew Bellinger agrees.
麻省理工学院的研究员安德鲁·贝林格（Andrew Bellinger）表示认同。
"You can take advantage of the fact that patients don't have to be reminded every day that they need to take their medicine. They can remember once a week to take their medicine and then live normally the rest of the time."
“好处在于你无需每天提醒病人他们该服药了。他们可以每周记住服一次药，然后其它时间照常生活。”
Researchers say the capsule could be used to treat emotional disorders, diabetes, and cardiovascular and kidney diseases.
研究人员表示，这种胶囊可用于治疗情绪障碍、糖尿病、心血管和肾脏疾病。
A study on the capsule and its development was published in the journal, Science Translational Medicine.
关于这种胶囊及其开发的研究发表在《科学转化医学》杂志上。
I'm Christopher Jones-Cruise.
我是克里斯托弗·琼斯克鲁斯。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利，未经授权请勿转载，违者必究！)